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Mike Patton, Karen Black, Susan Traylor, Kathleen Wilhoite, Jane Wiedlin ... see more see more... , Pleasant Gehman , Brooke Balderson , Amy Kelly , Cathy Berry , The Enigma , Jak Kendall , Selene Luna

A troubled young boy suffering at the hands of his abusive older brother seeks solace in the arms of a traveling burlesque circus singer in this surreal, true crime thriller that follows in the tradit... read more read more...ion of David Lynch's Blue Velvet and marks the acting debut of former Faith No More frontman Mike Patton. Jimmy (Jak Kendall) is a small-town dreamer who only seems to find peace while walking the candy-colored boardwalk of the traveling circus that has recently rolled into town. Emotionally shackled by his mother Eleanor's (Karen Black) religious fanaticism and physically intimidated by his alcoholic brother, David (Mike Patton), Jimmy leads a meek life of servitude and submissiveness from which he is powerless to escape. Upon glimpsing the exotic beauty of sultry singer Sandra (also Black), Jimmy furtively strikes up a friendship with the woman despite ominous signs that she is being held captive behind the microphone by sadistic circus ringmaster Frank (also Patton). When David goes missing and the horrors of Jimmy's home life are mirrored by the suffering of Sandra in the most unexpected ways, the perceived peace of small-town Kansas is forever shattered by the terrifying truth behind the wholesome, white picket-fence facade of suburbia. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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48% liked it

983 ratings

Unrated, 1 hr. 52 min.

Directed by: Steve Balderson

Release Date: October 11, 2005

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DVD Release Date: July 4, 2006

Stats: 108 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (108)

  • paulsandberg
    January 26, 2011
    paulsandberg
    Firecracker tells a well trodden story in a surreal way, so reminiscent of David Lynch that I was waiting for the female Shaman to utter "fire walk with me".

    Taking place in a backwater town in rural Kansas, a sensitive, creative young boy is being held back by an abusive olde... read morer brother and a coddling ultra religious mother (one of two roles portrayed by Karen Black in the film). When the carnival comes to town, the young boy is drawn to the sexy siren (also convincingly played by Black, even if she is a bit long in the tooth to play such a role) - not knowing that his older brother has had an ongoing affair with Black going back several years whenever the carnival comes to town.

    Sounds interesting so far, doesn't it? Sad to say the execution, direction, and especially the acting drag this down into a mere curiosity, so banal in parts and overly suggestive of mystical mumbo jumbo in others to be laughable.

    The carnival aspects of the film give it some interest, compared to the main story of murder and mysticism, but there are so many scenes that add nothing and are so terribly acted (the boss of the carnival seems to have come right out of a high school play, complete with bad make-up), that, along with some gaping plot holes and preposterous reasonings, tempt you to continue watching simply to see how bad this can be.

    Attempting to be creative, the director chose to film the Kansas parts of the story in black and white, while washing the Carnival in color. Pretty much stating the obvious; that life is bleak for the boy in Kansas, but there's a big colorful world out there (filled with inane characters who cannot act). However, this becomes tiresome as the film switches scenes back and forth - complete with some truly awful editing. The odd Lynchian elements seemed pretentious and thrown in not to advance the story or offer anything profound, but more as an attempt to make the film seem artsy (and failing).

    A "B" film if ever there was one, and looking as cheap as its minimal budget... another film where you wonder how and why it was made. I also wondered how someone with good acting chops like Karen Black could have a career that never really blossomed. She tries her best here to carry the load, but it's pretty obvious that she is miles above the rest of the cast, in spite of her having to utter some truly ridiculous lines.
  • spaulsson
    July 1, 2008
    spaulsson
    One star for the cinematography. The rest was pure crap.
  • John2223
    March 30, 2008
    John2223
    The music score and cinematography were good but terrible script and directing. Boring!
  • kfallsgr
    July 1, 2007
    kfallsgr
    starts off really artsy and david lynch-esque. however, while pondering when it would get better and actually have a meaningful turn around was not seen. weird and fucked up movie.
  • DownBoy
    May 18, 2007
    DownBoy
    one of a kind masterpeice. Truley one of the most inventive peices of cimagic art that I have come to watch so far
  • Brownsugarstudios
    September 3, 2006
    Brownsugarstudios
    Firecracker deserves an honorable mention. I didn't exactly enjoy my experience watching it, but it would please David Lynch... or piss him off because it wasn't up to his standards. Wierd artful movie.

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Critic Reviews

Roger Ebert
August 18, 2005
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

The movie has one of the most immediately gripping opening scenes I can remember. Full Review

June 24, 2006
Time Out

Click to read the article Full Review

December 6, 2005
St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Click to read the article Full Review

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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